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Boudicca (Civ5)
Boudica (or Boudicca) was leader of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against Roman forces in Britain in 60 or 61 CE. She will be leader of the Celts in the upcoming expansion for Civilization V, Gods and Kings. In-Game In game Boudica speaks modern Welsh. She appears to be standing outside a hillfort, standing next to a chariot in an area akin to the Scottish Highlands. She is dressed in a tartan and wields a sword. Capital: Edinburgh Unique Units: Pictish Warrior Unique Buildings: Céilidh Hall Special Ability: Druidic Lore History Boudica (d. 60 or 61 CE) was the queen of the Iceni tribe who led a failed uprising against the forces of the Roman Empire. The Iceni tribe were a British Celtic tribe that inhabited an area of East Anglia, England which roughly corresponds to the modern county of Norfolk. The Iceni were not conquered during the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD and retained the status of an independent ally of Britain up until the death of their king Prasutagus, Boudica's husband. In his will Prasutagus left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor. However his will was ignored and the kingdom was annexed and its wealth plundered as though it had been conquered. Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped. In 60 or 61 CE the Roman governer Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was leading a campaign against rebels on the island of Mona (Anglesey). During this time the Iceni along with their neighbours including the Trinovantes plotted a revolt, with Boudica as their leader. An attack was laid against the former Trinovantian capital and now Roman colony. The badly defended city fell to the rebels after a two day siege. The Roman procurator attempted to relieve the city with a task force but they were overcome in what became the Massacre of the Ninth Legion. Upon hearing of the rebellion, Suetonius hurried along the trackway of Watling Street and made his way to the Roman settlement and trading post of Londinium (London). Once there he called for an evacuation of the city. The city was burned and its remaining inhabitants slaughtered by the Britons. The town of Verulamium in modern Hertfordshire was next to fall. During the Britons attack on Verulamium, Suetonius managed to gather a force of 10,000 men. He chose to lead his forces through a gorge with a wood lying behind it. This made it difficult for the Britons to attack from the rear as well as making flanking impractical. The gorge lead out into an open plain which gave the Romans full view of any flanking Britons. Although the Boudica's forces were superior in number, the Roman positioning meant that it was impossible for the Britons to merely overwhelm the better disciplined and equipped Romans. The Romans also had a superior command of open-terrain tactics. The Britons had their family watch over the battle on a series of wagons, possibly as a display of optimism, something which delayed the retreat of many Britons who would ultimately be slaughtered. The Romans cut through the British forces and reportedly massacred even the women and children. The decisive defeat of Boudica's forces is the Battle of Watling Street. According to Tacitus, Boudica had rallied her troops with a speech that emphasised her position as a freedom fighter as opposed to a woman of noble lineage. However this is likely an embellishment. The circumstances of Boudica's death are not certain. Tacitus claims that she poisoned herself in order to avoid capture after Watling Street, where as Cassius Dio claims she fell ill and died. Though defeated, Boudica's uprising inspired enough of a crisis in Roman Britain that the Emperor Nero considered the removal of Roman forces in Britain altogether. She would later become an important cultural figure during the English Renaissance, ironically being associated with Queen Victoria despite the anti-imperialist symbolism. Lines Boudica speaks modern Welsh. Intro: I am Boudicca, Queen of the Celts and nobody better try rushing me. (Mae fy ewn Buddug, Brenhines y Celtiaid. ...) Art Category:Leaders (Civ 5) Category:Leaders Category:Civilization V Category:Characters